Fuse for projectiles



y 1936- 1.. E. REMONDY FUSE FOR PROJECTILES Filed Sept. 27, 1934 Patented July 14, 1936 ms. stares In Letters Patent No; 158541669} I-have'd'escribed and shown a fusefor artillery and' aircraft'projectiles comprising a movable carriage thecasing of whichcontains the entire percussion mechanism (striker-and percussion-paw, whereinthe striker (front element)- is solid withth'e' carriage, While the percussion cap (back element) is slidably mounted within the c'aisingsothat there may be relative'movement betweensaid cap-andthe striker. This construction' also' includes-awinged Washer which forms an= abutment in" the inoperative position for the-percussion-cap andpre-'- vents any' forward movement ofthe latter, the wingsof said washer passing through-openings in the side of said carriageso that-the latter-is free to move rearwardly' upon impact; This-priorpatent relates to an improved fuse of this lnown type; the improvement compri'singmeans for constructing the-movable carriage with an extremely small weight. v v

The novel means disclosedin said- Patent No. 1,854g669 consists primarily of a-support forming an auxiliary resistance to the recoil of the" percussioncap, .the said.percussion cambeing obliged to force the said supportt ba'ckWardlyg': driving the base of the movable carriaganafterr having rupturedJthe conne-ctionrwhich existsbetweenithe said-support and the fusebody and is provided, for example, by arsystem of frangible or shearable pins. 7

The; present invention relates to various practical forms of construction of thezresista'nce of th-e auxiliary support provided rfor-thez percussion .cap of the movable carriage;

In the Letters Patent. No. l;854;669, two. forms of construction were describedzin detailiin which the auxiliary rear supportiof the percussion c'ap was constituted by a thimble or: cupshavingla per foratedv bottom and fixed 1 to the "fuse body, by j a system of frangible pins, thecup being-L disposed immediately below ithe bottomofithe casinglofithe carriage or in the interior of the said casingand between'the bottom of the latter andth'e bottom of the percussion cap. 7 j

The modified and improved formsof construction of the basic invention accordingstothaPatent No. 1,854,669 which form the subject-matter oflthe-present inventiom are shown in the accompanying drawing. These forms of construction differ from those described in the Patent No. 1,854,669 in the manner of constituting the auxiliary support and the member or members which, in the inoperative position, secure it to the fuse body. The general principle of the invention remains the same, that is to say, the fuse always comprises an auxiliary re'ar support; resting on whichis 'the carriage or the percussion=cap;-pre'- vented froin -a'ny- -forwardescape' by ame'mber such asa resilient winged washer, andthe per cussion cap i always encounters" on the departure 5 ofthe projectile,- as resistance against any pre matureinwardmo'vement, not onlythe bottom of the casing of the carriage, but alsO -tIiesaidauX' iliary supportand the means-forholding-it to-the fuseibody; Exactly as in=theforms-of=construe 10 tion: described inthe" Patent 1 ,854'669;-it is no longer-necessary-in the present inve'ntion tb-make the carriage casing of a strength' such tl'iat" the casing is c'apable of retaining by itselfi the per clission cap}: a fact-- which' makes possible or atta'inme'nt considerable lightening: of .thec'ar r iage structure: Several embodimentsof the invention -are shown in the accompanying drawing wherein Figure- 1 isa sectional elevationof th'e' upper part ofi a? fuse-ibody illustratingonefornr'ofthe invention l I -Fi'guref2='is-a vperspective view of the auxiliary supporting element shown in Figure' l Figure'3sis:a view-similar toFigurelTof-a modi- .fication of the -invention a Figure 4-:is a plan view of: the auxiliary'support of-FigureS; andv Figures 5 and 6,1 are viewssimila'r to-Figu-re 1-of twol additional forms of the invention.

'- In the embodiment shown in: Figure 1,.a de- 130 vnotes-5 Ether principal element a of the fuse body in width islmountedthe movable carriagehconsti- .tutedby ac'asing; b expanded: at its forward' end and. set, our the. expanded head: 0 of the; striker lC =C iThelongitudinal wallsof the; said casing tare pierced by openings U 'The 'percussioncap *f which-is'containedain the casing l1 bears at its-rear end on the bottom of the casing and at its :front edge? againstzsthe winged" washer; it, being thus 40 fixedtbetween -::its two supports in the inoperative position. s

1 imtheexa-mple shown; theauxiliary rear}: support for the percussion cap.isconstituted-zbyan -;ir iverted-- cup e perforated; in -the-1centralpor- 5 v.tion of base at e for; flame transmission, as

shown in the detailed perspective view ofiFig- -of the body latter against the front edge of the element a. Of course, the element a of the fuse body will .at the same time serve for fixing the winged washer h in position by clamping engagement between its upper surface and a shoulder formed on fuse cap a The winged washer h may be constituted exactly as is indicated in the Patent 1,854,669.

With a view to increasing the sensitivity of the fuse, the line of connection 9 between the lugs g and the body 6 of the cup e-e may be weakened so that, immediately upon impact,

body e is sheared from lugs g and permits the carriage b to move rearwardlyl This movement of the carriage brings striker c into contact with percussion cap 1, which byits inertia tends to remain in its forward position abutting washer M.

It is easy to see that this form of construction, when compared with those which have been described and shown by way of example in .the Patent 1,854,669 affords the additional advantage of an easier assembly in view of the fact that any drilling of gauged holes of very small diameter, and the operation of the engagement and retention of frangible or shearable pins in the 7 said holes are avoided.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the

- auxiliary support for the percussion cap, disposed as in theexample of Figures 1 and 2 on the exterior of the casing of the movable carriage, instead'of being integral with its fixing member is independent thereof. In this construction,

I as is shown clearly by Figure 3 and the corresponding plan of Figure 4, the perforated cup e rests by its edge on a perforated washerg-g] fixed at its periphery between the two elements a and a of the fuse body.

As shown in Figure 4, the washer g maybe provided witha plurality of arcuate slots g which are so located as to line up with the lower edgeof the cup e, the latteronly resting on two or more solid parts 9 of slight width separating slots 9 This construction will considerably fa-- cilitate the shearing upon impact of the central cup retaining portion of washer g from its peripheral portion which is clamped between elements a and a of the fuse bodyi Figure 5 shows a form of construction in which the supporting cup e is inverted from the position shown in Figure 1 so as to constitute a kind of socket for the carriage. The fixing portion of the cup, integral with the said cup, 'may be constituted either by a continuous flange or by lugs g analogous to those of Figure 2, said fiange or lugs being clamped between elements -a and a of the fuse body just beneath winged also lines of lesser resistance may be provided between the socket'body and the inner-edges of the fixing lugs, or between the bottom of'the cup andthe'body thereof. a

In all these embodiments, the depth or height of the cup 'may be varied as desired.

' It is also possible to replace the cup by a simple washer which may or may not be slightly dished whether or not the body of the cup serves for shearing the retaining member by pressure or serves as stripping member.

Figure 6 shows a constructional embodiment in which the auxiliary support is formed under the movable carriage simply by a washer analogous to that shown in Figure 4. In this construction, the washer is retained by circumferentially spaced teeth a projecting upwardly from the element a of the fuse body and passing through the apertures cut in said washer, the said teeth at the same time forming guides for the lower end of the casing of the movable carriage.

Of course, the fuses above described may comprise, associated with the improved percussion system, the various accessory devices described and shown in my prior patent specifications, such as gas-tight caps or joints, firing safety devices having segments retracted by the centrifugal force, and devices for absorbing any shocks on the departure of the shot, such as washers of felt, cloth or the like placed under the head (Figure 6)0r under the lower end of the movable carriage.

1 Although the auxiliary supporting member with its fixing means is preferably made of a light alloy, it may of course be made of any other suitable material capable of being moulded, stamped or cut and adapted for easy manufacture. It will not be indispensable for the material employed to be homogeneous; The cup or washer forming the auxiliary supporting member may be constituted of superimposed sheets, so as to provide an upper layer of a plasticity difiering from that of the lower layer or layers. Various other changes, which will now suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, may be made in form, details of construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Reference is therefore to be had to the appended claim for a definition of the limits of the invention.

What is claimed is:--

In a projectile fuse of the type having a carriage movably mounted within the fuse body and relatively'movable striker and percussion cap elements carried thereby, a supporting member for preventing premature movement of said carriage and elements to firing position having a central portion in the form of a cup with an apertured end wall upon which the carriage is adapted to rest and side walls perpendicular to said end wall, and an outer portion consisting of a plurality of spaced lugs integral with and extending. outwardly from said side walls for fixed clamping engagement between separable elements of the fuse body, the junction between said central portion and said lugs offering less resistance to forces acting parallel to the axis of the fuse than any other part of said supporting member, whereby shearing of the central portion from the lugs upon impact of the projectile is insured.

LEON EMILE REMONDY. 

